In the Fishtank

Konkurrent;
2003

Find it at:

You could argue that with Konkurrent's In the Fishtank series, getting a great record is beside the point. The ten Fishtank albums released so far-- featuring bands like June of 44, Low + Dirty Three, Tortoise + The Ex, and Willard Grant Conspiracy + Telefunk-- all follow the same template: the label grabs bands that are touring through Holland, sticks them in a studio for a couple of days (most don't even rehearse) and persuades them to cut records that are more experimental, offbeat and, critically, more casual than they would ever make in their normal studio time. Although strict jazz and improv artists toss out live records and unrehearsed meet-ups as a matter of course-- Some Guys That Showed Up at the Velvet Lounge, Vol. 3 or what have you-- it's rarer for avant-rock, post-rock and jazz-informed bands to just scribble out an album and release it: LPs are events, and even EPs are policy statements.

It's telling that even with bands as adventurous as Norway's Motorpsycho and Jaga Jazzist, it's hard to imagine any of their albums coming out as loose or random as this thrown-together EP. Jaga Jazzist-- represented here by their horn section-- is the jazz/fusion/techno nonet known for their densely pancaked instrumentals and gymnastic arrangements. Motorpsycho is a long-running psych-rock band, extremely popular in their home country, whose work jumps from classic rock jams and pastoral acoustics to hypercatchy psychedelia. (Their latest record, It's a Love Cult, serves as a great introduction.)

The Jaga Jazzist horns have tagged along on a few Motorpsycho tours and done session work on their records, but In the Fishtank is their first real two-way collaboration. On the Mingus-referencing "Doffen Ah Um", a typically knotty Jazzist instrumental rubs against Motorpsycho's rock drums and grungy rhythm guitar; the soft psych-folk song "Pills, Powders and Passion Play" gets an extended instrumental break, highlighted by Mathias Eick's muted trumpet.

These horn players are so identified by their tight ensemble work that it's a revelation to hear them play slow, almost drifting passages-- like when Jørgen Munkeby takes extended flute solos that evoke the dry desert sound of Julius Hemphill. And they come to the rescue when Motorpsycho ham their way through the Art Ensemble of Chicago's "Theme de Yoyo": while the singers go for a "you had to be there" delivery of the loopy lyrics, the horns' punchy funk salvages the song.

But the clincher here is the last track, the twenty-minute "Tristano": building on a repeated motif that crackles with energy, the ensemble plinks and clatters up a mammoth arc, climbing with the nervous deliberateness of a rollercoaster until the theme comes in at minute thirteen and the band careens through the denouement. A free jazz structure tempered by pop urges, it does nothing more nor less than show off how well the bands spark off each other, in a setting that's more open than you may ever get from these guys again. And it's just the culmination of the "anything goes" aesthetic that makes this whole record so enjoyable-- that in a setting like this, the musicians can reveal themselves in ways that you never get from their normal work. It's one of the strongest records in the Fishtank series to date, and at times, it's damn near definitive.